Chicago drivers are breathing a sigh of relief these days as gas prices declined significantly in April, with  the average price of regular unleaded gasoline dropping nearly every day last month.

While Chicago area gas prices are still significantly higher than last year, local gas prices dropped nearly a quarter a gallon for regular unleaded gasoline in April, according to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report.

“Prices are starting to stabilize a little from the price increases we saw due to the switch over to the summer blend of gasoline,” said Beth Mosher, director of public affairs for AAA Chicago.

It was the end of March when Chicago gas prices reached a record high price of $4.68 per gallon in the city proper and $4.50 per gallon for the Chicago metro area according to AAA.

Since posting those unprecedented high prices, fuel costs at the beginning of May are down 31 cents to $4.37 a gallon for the city and are 34 cents lower in the greater metro area dropping to $4.18 per gallon.

Fuel price tracking website,ChicagoGasPrices.com shows a similar decline from an all-time record of $4.56 a gallon over a month ago to a current price of $4.22 per gallon–down 34 cents per gallon.

“The worst is certainly behind Chicago drivers,” said Patrick DeHaan, Senior Petroleum Analyst for GasBuddy.com. “The wholesale price of gas has taken a hit the last few weeks. Now that the switchover (to the cleaner burning summer blend) is over, supply will begin to build and prices will stabilize.”

While not the highest gas prices in the nation, GasBuddy.com still ranks Chicago in the top 5 cities for highest gas prices.